To The Summit (Mt. Whitney Trip)

□■□■　Mt. Whitney ■□ August 15th　Approach

The right picture is during preparation. I put my food and sunscreen into a bear canister to keep away from wild bears. We must bring a bear canister by ourselves if we camp in the region of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. 　I rented the bear canister on the picture at REI (outdoor equipments shop). The bear canister made by plastic has a unique cover with screw top lids that can be locked by inserting a coin. Bears can never open the screw because their hands are too big to screw it. I rented it for about $10 or more a day. InterAgency Visitor Center in Lone Pine also lease a bear canister for hikers.

I left my home around 9am to get to the starting point of the mountain behind the Sierra Nevada. I droved straight to the south on State Highway 99 seeing brown glasses and hills. After passing Bakers-Field and reaching to the back side of the Sierra Nevada, my car went north in barren land. The left picture is in the traffic jam I encountered on the way north. A traffic accident seemed to happen on the road. I had to stay there for about 30 minutes. Other than that, the driving was very smooth and comfortable. 　I got the permit by showing my reservation confirmation mailed to my home by applying for the lottery. Then I drove to Whitney Portal and stayed overnight, expecting an exciting trip to the highest summit in my life!